Advocacy

When Academy-Award nominated director Richard Robbins set out to make “Girl Rising” — a film about girls in the developing world struggling to get an education — he enlisted prominent women writers from each of the countries featured to tell the girls’ stories.

Recently, I saw the latest film adaptation of Les Misérables. Though I know the story well from Victor Hugo’s novel and have seen the live musical stage performance, something about this latest version especially moved me to tears.

The national identity card is helping to ensure that children from the Miramar community in Peru have access to their fundamental rights -- like medical care and community programs. Carmen shares how this piece of identification has changed her life -- and the lives of her children.

The director of a soon-to-be-released film charting the lives of girls struggling to get an education in some of the world’s toughest places deliberately abandoned the techniques of conventional documentary filmmaking.

The film Girl Rising, whose narrators include Meryl Streep, Kerry Washington, and Selena Gomez, is due for theatrical release in March.

Rich Stearns, president of World Vision U.S., offers his thoughts on today's election -- and the challenges and responsibilities that will be faced by the president of the United States during the next four years.

“What we are learning around the world is that if women are healthy and educated, their families will flourish. If women are free from violence, their families will flourish. If women have a chance to work and earn as full and equal partners in society, their families will flourish. And when families flourish, communities and nations do as well.”

—Hillary Rodham Clinton, September 1995, remarks for the United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women

One year ago, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act -- the centerpiece of U.S. policies against modern-day slavery around the world -- expired because Congress failed to reauthorize it in time. Since then, concerned citizens and groups who work to protect children have advocated for the reauthorization bill to be passed.

One of my favorite bands is Band of Horses. I love all kinds of music and listen to different types, based on the mood I am in at that moment -- but I can always listen to Band of Horses. It’s all about their lyrics, which I find creative and often very thought-provoking.

Recently, Jessica Bosquette shared how she saw the Trafficking Victims Protection Act make a difference in the lives of children in the Dominican Republic. She also shared that if Americans failed to tell their senators they want the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act to pass, the positive results it has yielded will be gone. Today, Jesse Eaves, WV Policy Advisor on child protection, provides an update on the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act. He has news that requires a response-- if Americans want to see results, we must act soon.

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There's no doubt about it – it's been a scorcher in Washington, D.C.

Luckily for us, the heat outside is only matched by the heat inside Congress to take action on the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) S.1301.

But now we can turn up the heat. We have to make it a political necessity for U.S. senators to vote ‘yes’ for this legislation.

June 12 is the World Day Against Child Labor. Globally, at least 2 million children are trafficked annually for child labor and sexual exploitation. World Vision is working in places like Bangladesh, a human trafficking source and transit country, to protect vulnerable children from trafficking and forced labor. Traveling in Bangladesh to see World Vision's child protection programs in action, Jesse Eaves, our child protection policy advisor, reflects on what he sees at the Benapole border crossing between Bangladesh and India.

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I see the trucks long before I see the actual border -- colorful, well-used, laden with cargo and people, lined up one after another on the shoulder of the road.

In fact, I almost don’t even see the border gates for all the trucks and the mass of humanity congregating at the exit point. The Benapole border crossing is the busiest in Bangladesh. More than 5,000 people a day cross this inauspicious boundary with India.

The first thing I notice is that lots of people are trying to enter India -- and almost no one is coming over to Bangladesh.

An evil force was threatening planet Earth. Thousands were dying every day. Millions more were threatened by hunger and starvation. Mothers and children fled the onslaught, but could not escape it.

But there was hope. A small group, invested with superhuman abilities, could change everything. If they chose to overcome their personal priorities, this small group could do amazing things. They could save the day.

I got back from watching “The Avengers” last weekend. Since that day in 1963 when I bought the first issue of the comic for 12 cents, I’ve been a fan of those superhero tales.

But I might just as easily have been talking about this week’s G8 Summit, where world leaders have the power to dramatically change the lives of nearly a billion people who suffer from hunger. Millions right now are facing acute food shortages. The prospect of famine looms in West Africa.

From my childhood, I have distinct memories of the hot lunch program at school. In particular, it was a treat to be able to get hot lunch on special days. On St. Patrick’s Day, we had green-colored applesauce and chicken nuggets!

Most days, I appreciated the nutritious meals my mom lovingly packed, but sometimes, I would glance longingly from my peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich (the fourth of the week) to the line of students getting hot lunch.

It has been a long time since I’ve thought about green applesauce. But, this brief moment from my childhood came to mind while reflecting on my visit to a World Vision program in the capital of Romania.

In the poorest area of Bucharest (also known as Sector 5), World Vision is working with the local government to provide hot meals and after-school programming for children, like tutoring and psychosocial support. The program started because of growing concern about the school dropout rate and the increased vulnerability of children due to poverty and lack of access to social services.

HungerFree is a campaign to end global hunger by creatively engaging world leaders on the topic. In May and June, leaders from the world's largest economies will meet for the G8 and G20 summits to discuss issues of global significance. James Pedrick of World Vision ACT:S, our college activism network, discusses these summits and the important role they can play in eliminating world hunger.

Most will agree that Congress does not have a sterling reputation these days -- in fact, it bears the worst public perception of any of our branches of government. Some words you may hear used to describe the deliberating body: dysfunctional, divided, self-serving, broken. The most recent approval rating for Congress (as of the publication of this post) is a dismal 14 percent. Has it always been this way? Does it have to be this way now?

My son, Joshua, recently turned 16 months old. (As a new parent, I’ve learned that we track our young children’s ages by months or even days rather than by years.) As Joshua grows, I witness him becoming increasingly independent and stubborn, particularly when it comes to eating.